Birthday Trees Is An Idea in Full Bloom

Over the next few weeks Antonio Parkway in RSM will be a celebration of lavender flowers from the Jacaranda trees that line the median.  They will be beautiful and worth the detour if you normally don't travel this stretch of road.  If you happen to have a child with a late May or early June birthday they can be their special birthday trees.

When our youngest son was very little he would ask "When is my birthday?" We could have made marks on the calendar but I wanted to give him something special to mark the days.

Having Jacarandas in our backyard we would open the door and step outside. As I held him with little arms wrapped around my neck I told him 'Look up. Those are your birthday trees and they will always tell you when your birthday is.' We looked up at the bare branches to find a few lavender flowers. Just a few.

"When your birthday is almost here, these trees will be full of flowers, just for you, and on your birthday it will rain flowers.' With his face raised, shining, I couldn't tell if his eyes or the sky was more blue and clear.

Some days would pass without a mention as he played Brio trains with his older brother and some days he would notice more flowers on the branches and wanted us all to know. As if overnight, the countdown to the celebration would accelerate and we would go stand under the canopy of purple and listen to the bees buzzing as if they too, could feel his excitement.  Soon it would begin to rain!  A day of delicate flower confetti swirling about my toddler landing silently at his feet. 

Every year I'd mention his birthday trees even as he grew into his teenaged years and it became kind of our little joke as only a mom could perpetuate and a good sport could pretend to go along with.

With my son in college during his birthday for the past two years, he has told he can't help but take notice of the blooming trees on campus.  The nice thing is, he says it reminds him of me and of home.  I hope they always will.